Forever May Not Be Long Enough
by Quinctia
Summary: Postgame tragedy. Coherent grasp and explanation of a popular theory involving our lovely heroine and our ultimate enemy. Or should I say, our lovely heroine, who is the ultimate enemy...?
1. Book I Premonition: Prologue: Ultimecia

**

Forever May Not Be Long Enough

**  
_By: Quinctia _****

Book I: Premonition

__

Forever may not be long enough for my love   
I have a will but I'm lost inside your time   
If you could, would you come with me to the other side?   
Forever may not be long enough

--Live, "Forever May Not Be Long Enough"

Prologue: Ultimecia

_Broken images stir in my mind, flow like fire in my veins. Futile reaches are mine as I try to grasp the edges of thoughts, worn away all too long ago._

My memory is almost like a statik filled transmission...old-fashioned radio waves broken and twisted into something barely rekognizable. Sometimes kompletely unrekognizable.

...hate...SeeD.

_"Death...SeeD. Kry..."_ _The words of my birth tongue stumble and break free. But I kannot remember enough to even understand the meaning._

Walking to the window, I pause for a moment, reflekting on the white-klad bodies strewn about my kourtyard. I shake my head. "It's...c..c...court_yard." My tongue strains on the now-foreign sound, but I have this feeling inside that this one is correct._

"Salve, Inlustris Ultimecia." A servant calls out a greeting.

I order him to enter. "Veni."

"Nunc est tempus." He hands me an unusual silver ring, which seems vaguely familiar. As I touch it, a voice resounds in my head.

"Dear heart, do you remember me?"

_An image flashes into my mind. Fierce, carnal, and above all, strong. "Gr--Griever?" I whisper in confusion, for I truly cannot recollect having ever seen the jewelry before in my life._

And my life has been a long one.

"I doubted you would. How sad can it be, when the one responsible for my existence cannot remember my birth...only my name...whispered in the echoes of the wind..."

_My servant is looking at me, frightened and expectantly. It is obvious he does not hear as I do... "Gratias tibi ago. Sis, i." I send him away._

What was I doing again? Why was the servant here in the first place?

Oh yes, that was right...

"Compression."

_But why are you here, Griever?_

"I promised. That if you look for me here, I'll be waiting for you. Your knight for all times."

_Knight?_

What knight... I have no knight. I've never had a knight. That's how it's always been...I am the Lost Sorceress, abandoned, doomed to be alone for all eternity.

"If so, then why are you bringing the past to meet you face to face?"

____________________________________________________________________________

  
**Disclaimer: FF8 is property of its respective creators. All new content is (c) Quinkie, 2002.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She chewed on her pencil, gazing down at the blank paper in front of her. Her final project as a cadet was a written essay, and then she could take SeeD field exam. Finally.

"SeeD exam, _schmeed_ exam," she muttered in a half-singsong voice. (Why did I even decide to do this anyway? I'm not the soldiery type.) She was answered with an image of Squall's dour, sarcasm-filled face. No, strike that. His intensely dour, and very _sexy_, sarcasm-filled face.

Rinoa sighed and studied the title on her paper. The _only_ thing on her paper.

"The Effects of Meltdown Magic on an Opponent's Vitality."

"It works really well!" she yelled at the mocking, blue-lined piece of paper. "They get all sick looking and stuff."

_"Why can't I get, like, an honorary SeeD appointment or something, like Irvine did?"_

"Protocol can't be entirely thrown out the window here, Rinoa." Squall scratched the back of his neck absent-mindedly. "You've never even attended_ a Garden. Besides, it would reflect badly on us if we appointed a sorceress whose skills haven't even been adequately tested..."_

"Damn protocol." The eraser from the pencil detached into her mouth, a result of her furious chewing. She coughed, spitting out several pink pieces of rubber. "Damn Ultimecia and damn sorceress powers and–"

"Rinny!" A sunny voice called out to her from the entrance of the observation deck. "Rin-Rin-Rin-Rin..." Selphie chattered as she made her way over to her sulking friend. "I have a message for you." She wrinkled her nose a bit and stuck out her tongue. "Why all the pout and frown and brows?"

"I'm doing homework." Rinoa looked thoughtful. Suddenly, she viciously stabbed through the sheet of paper with the remains of her yellow pencil. (Take _that_, Vitality!)

"Hmm...should I have word with Quistis about the demandingness of her course load?"

She cracked a small smile. "Nah. She's actually been quite accommodating. She's letting me write a brief essay about spell effects, instead of taking the actual SeeD written exam." A pause. "Cid and Squall are still in deliberation about my field requirements."

"Deliberations?" the petite girl squeaked. "But you can kick my butt!"

"I think they wonder about the powers I might have at my command..."

"They should just ask!"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "They're _men_, Selph."

She giggled, then paused a second. "Why did I come here again? Oh _yeah_, I have a message for you." She grinned.

Brushing a bit of brown-streaked ebony hair from her eyes, Rinoa looked at her expectantly.

"Squall wants to see you in his office, A.S.A.P."

Sighing, she gathered up her things. "Figures. He only _wants_ to talk to me when I _can't_."

"Maybe they've decided to make you a SeeD without the exams," Selphie countered cheerfully.

******

Rinoa made her way through the corridors of Balamb Garden. There had been few changes made since the third Sorceress War, and those that had been made were subtle. Squall had assumed Cid's role in running Garden, and Mr. Kramer himself rose up to Garden Master, also coordinating interactions with the other Gardens.

The SeeDs she'd fought with had all become instructors. She suddenly realized something startling. (Even if I become a SeeD, I'll be deployed away from Balamb–my friends–all the time!) It was a fairly accurate assessment. After all, if Cid and Squall were less than confident in her abilities to even be a SeeD, they weren't going to have her teaching cadets any time soon!

Glancing down at her clothes, she realized that a tight blue tank top and black shorts weren't exactly proper cadet attire. At least, not proper to show to one's headmaster. (Aw, screw it. Besides, Squall will understand. It's _Squall_, he probably won't even notice.) A little pang went through her.

(Oh, I hope he notices.) His office door opened with a soft _whoosh_, and she stepped inside.

Intense blue eyes glanced up from a mountain of paperwork. "Oh, hello," Squall said absent-mindedly.

She hugged her books to her chest. "You wanted to see me?"

He nodded, then noticed her nervousness. "Geez, Rin, why don't you sit and calm down a bit. Did I disturb you from something important?"

Sighing lightly with relief, Rinoa perched on a cushy chair in front of him. "I was attempting to write a paper. For Quistis. In place of a formal written exam."

"Oh yes. That. Hmm..." He fiddled with a pencil, deep in thought. "Well, I suppose that can wait, anyway."

"Not really, Squall. It's due tomorrow. And I can't take a field exam if I don't do it well."

"I'll ask Trepe to give you an extension." He seemed to be talking half to himself. "No biggie."

"Dammit Squall, you couldn't bend the rules to let me in before, but all of a sudden they go out the window?" Her voice had become very screechy in her frustration.

"Huh?" A look of surprise. "You think–" Shaking his head, he patted her hand. "No hon, I'm sorry. I have something to tell you, and then you'll understand what I'm rambling about."

Rinoa nodded. "Go on."

"The election results for Galbadia finally have been announced. Recount and all."

"Oh." She leaned back, feigning disinterest. "And..."

"The new president is Caraway."

A blink. "_Oh_..."

"There has been...a request...for my presence at the inauguration. To show that there aren't any hard feelings, I suppose."

Rinoa turned her head away.

"On SeeD's part." He gazed at her softly. "Look, I don't want to go, but–"

"I know what you're asking me, and the answer is no."

"No...I don't think you do know what I'm going to ask." Squall stood up and walked toward a window in his office, gazing down on the main corridor of the Garden. "Your presence was also requested. The wording of the message led me to believe that if you were not present, Galbadia's propaganda mills would begin to skew the fact."

"I'm a free person!" she protested.

"I have a feeling that any suspicion Garden was holding a sorceress against her will would be enough to incite the Galbadian people into supporting any effort to destroy us."

"We've just finally reached peace. Why would _that man_ want to stop it?"

"Do you want my honest answer, Rin?"

She nodded.

Walking over, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think his advisors are pushing him towards this move, but deep down, he's worried about you. I mean, outwardly, you don't seem like the SeeD type."

(That's because I'm not.) Lowering her head slightly and blinking back a bit of moisture, she thought to herself.

"I know how you feel about your father, but...I'm afraid that this situation is bigger than your own feelings." He lifted her chin so she was looking straight at him. "Or mine."

"I understand," she lied. She didn't, not really. (Can't we squash Galbadia anyway? We've done it before, and they don't have a sorceress on their side this time.)

"I might be able to mess with the paperwork and count this as a field exam. That would be a load of your shoulders, eh?"

Faking a smile, she stood. "So I should go get packed?"

"Yeah. We leave tomorrow."

Rinoa allowed him to wrap his arms around her for a brief moment, before she grabbed her things and made a quick exit.

"Why didn't you tell her the whole truth?" Xu emerged from her adjoining office.

"I told her as much as she needed to know."

"So you're comfortable that your girl has no idea that her father made a bald-faced threat on your life and on the entire Garden? Just to get her butt over there for his inauguration?"

Squall looked down. "Our intelligence cannot find any evidence that those threats had any substance to them. In some ways, I do think Caraway thinks that we're holding his daughter hostage."

"At least take some back up with you on this stupid trip."

"Oh yes. That's very peace inducing. Trekking over there with a bunch of soldiers is really going to improve our relations with an old enemy." He shook his head. "No, Xu."

"So you will use your blind trust and get yourself killed? Maybe the sorceress, too?"

"Someone has to take the first step." Squall sat back down at his desk. "Dismissed," he said, not giving her another look.

"I think you're making a big–"

"Dismissed or demoted. Your choice." His eyes followed her as she went to the elevator, making sure she was long gone before he buried his face in his hands.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The power of such a sorceress is haunting, manipulative...if such a force could control a person of my strength, who knows when it will rise again and conquer Rinoa? I'm not even going to _begin_ to suggest that she is weak, but–"

"I understand completely what you mean," replied the president-elect. "But Mr. Almasy, I fail to see any problem to solve with your solution. If she's with SeeD, she's in the safest place possible. Safest for herself _and_ us all."

"She was with SeeD when she released Sorceress Adel; I hardly call that safe," Seifer said condescendingly.

"I cannot lock my daughter away." Caraway looked out his office window. "I have made so many errors in the past, this would just be another to add."

A lean forward, and a flip of strawberry blond hair. "You don't have to do anything. That's why I'm here, remember?"

The older man was silent.

"Oh come on, you're not going to back out now. I thought you wanted to be a responsible leader for Galbadia...for the entire world."

Seifer hadn't noticed that he kept a framed picture on his desk. Faded by time and the light, a dark haired woman in an evening gown proudly showed a golden award to her young daughter. (Our daughter. She's all I have left...and now she's slipped away.) The former general's thoughts turned to the last time he'd seen his daughter. She had been in the company of SeeDs preparing to assassinate Sorceress Edea.

Rinoa had cut off her long hair. (Butchered it) he thought bitterly. She loved styling and playing with it, but at fifteen, he'd made the mistake of complimenting it, so away it went. Along with the light, glittery make-up, and pink clothing...but maybe that was Seifer's doing.

It seemed strange to him that irony deemed that the very young man he'd feared would lead his daughter to ruin had now come to lead her away forever. But he was a knight, and his role would be to support her in her endeavors. Sealing Rinoa off, the boy had explained, would give him a shot to have a normal life.

(But what of Rinoa's life? Barely nineteen, and it would all be over?) "It won't be easy," Caraway said softly, "Leonhart will never allow this without a fight. He prevented her sealing in Esthar a year and a half ago."

"He won't know what we've done until everything is over." A derisive grin touched Seifer's lips. "Supposedly, it will be a 'Galbadian rescue operation'–after all, she _is_ a citizen–and maybe someday, he'll know that she became 'sealed for your protection.'" He laughed a bit at his joke, but Caraway did not smile in return.

"Well, then, your operation will commence at my inauguration." He set his jaw. "However, I should like to see her before you take her to the new missile base."

"Of course, sir." A light salute.

"That will be all." With that, the mercenary knight left. Caraway lifted up the picture, and the late afternoon sun glinted off the glass. Julia and Rinoa looked like they were bathed in light.

(Yes,) he thought bitterly, (this will be all.)

******

"I now proudly present to you all, zee Junction Machine Ellone!"

The group of gathered Estharian scientists politely applauded Dr. Odine.

"Zis machine will lead us into zee future...show us zee past...and best of all, further learning in zee field of science!"

"Laguna, what do you think of it?" Kiros whispered to his old friend.

The president cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing the piece of machinery before them. "It's very shiny," he offered. "And for all the problems it has...er...will cause, it's certainly innoculative."

"Innovative, sir?" Kiros hid a smile.

"Oh, oh yes, that's the word! Innovative."

"And here is zee inspiration for all of zis, zee beautiful and gifted Ellone Loire!" The doctor, although egotistical, certainly didn't mind giving credit where credit was due, and the tall graceful brunette walked onto the platform.

She smiled faintly, gathering up her courage to make a small speech, which she knew in her heart, was sure to be disregarded. "Thank you. The doctor's invention will certainly lead us into a wonderful new world of learning and progress. Scholars have said for ages that history is doomed to repeat itself..."

******

Rinoa had paused her packing to watch the news conference, live from Esthar. She'd never known Ellone as well as she'd have liked, but a small smile came to her face as she saw the sweet girl speaking on the television.

_"...history is doomed to repeat itself, but maybe that is only because scholars lose perspective. No two instances are exactly the same; in fact, one instance can be very different, depending on whose eyes one uses to see it from. With Dr. Odine's invention, we can now all see events of the past through many different perspectives. My deepest desire is for this project to further understanding. That was _my_ dream, and the reason that I participated in such a great undertaking._

"I don't deny that this machine could indeed be the beginning of a dangerous path for all mankind...and there may be some out there with dark wishes to see the fulfillment of old dreams...evil desires." Ellone blinked her eyes, then focused on the camera directly in front of her. She seemed to be directly addressing the viewers.

"Such plans can never come to fruition. Our mistakes will further our learning, and any attempt to change the past will simply move us all backwards. So let us take this new tool of learning, and educate the world of our rich history."

As soon as she backed away from the podium, she was thanked with thunderous applause. The camera panned out to the proud faces of President Loire and his advisors, then the triumphant gaze of the doctor, finally scanning through the excited members of the audience.

An announcer began to speak. "This is truly an historic day for the people of Esthar, and people everywhere. The very annals of the past shall come to play before our eyes, thanks to Junction Machine Ellone. When we return from our break, we will have a one-on-one interview with President Loire himself and his thoughts on the ramifications of such an important breakthrough..."

Rinoa switched off the television, then slipped a brand new light pink dress into a garment bag. The softest satin, it shimmered even in the faint light of the dusk that managed to sneak into her dorm room.

She turned to the mirror, gazing at her reflection. Her hair was still shorn–it was easier to manage that way–but she had washed off the kohl and mascara, and was debating the results. So used to wearing the deep, rich colors, she'd almost forgotten what her eyes looked like bare.

(Black doesn't really match pink, anyway.) Tossing out the contents of her makeup bag, she sorted through the various tubes and containers, until she found a rather old, half-empty jar of eye shadow. She glanced at the label. _Moondust_.

Twisting it open, she was rather pleased to see a shimmering, iridescent, lavender powder shining at her. (I knew there was a reason why I never threw anything away.) She finished gathering her toiletries, and tossed the small bag inside her satchel, zipping it up. (There. And I only put packing off for a day.)

She smoothed the jacket of her uniform. Since she wasn't technically on leave, she had to dress as a cadet for the trip itself, although formal dress was required for the inauguration itself.

Gingerly, Rinoa sat down on the edge of her bed, still eyeing herself in the mirror. She and Squall were to leave in a few hours. The main event, though, was still two days away.

(_"...any attempt to change the past will simply move us all backwards..."_

I wonder if my father and I will ever be able to forgive each other for the errors of our past? When he did all he could to anger me, and I, him? Will any word that needs to be said, pass our lips too late?

Does he wish that he'd done a few things differently, too?)

******

"Are the cameras gone?" Laguna glanced around his office nervously.

Ellone's sweet laugh carried through the room as she walked in. "Oh, Uncle Laguna, how do you ever manage to get through daily life as the president, when you hate publicity that much?"

He leaned back in his desk chair, propping his feet up. "It never used to be half as bad, you know, when Esthar was still cut off from the rest of the world. Sometimes, I wish we still were."

"We have gifts to share with everyone, though!" she said enthusiastically.

"You don't miss the Gardens, sweetie?"

"Oh." She sat down lightly in a comfy wingback chair. "I never said that, but I've gotten a bit old for that. I'm not a child anymore, you know. And my work has been so fulfilling, as long as I forget about Ultimecia's plans in the future."

Kiros, who had been standing next to the president quietly until now, questioned her. "I often wondered how you could work so eagerly on a machine that would cause so much pain."

"I have to believe that there is a good use for it. Besides...if we hadn't made the machine, it would change the world as we know it. That's too much responsibility to place on our heads."

"Many that Ultimecia killed would still be alive."

"Only in this time." She looked up at him, with a bit of pleading in her eyes. "Didn't you hear Squall and the others' descriptions of Ultimecia's castle? All the fallen soldiers outside of it? I like to think that, even if there was some pain caused here and now, that my..._my_ machine allowed for a group who still had hope to go back and give some to our successors in the future. Anything that led to the defeat of such a vile soul can't be bad."

"You don't know that for sure," he persisted.

"Sure? Nothing is sure!" Ellone sent a pleading look to Laguna. "Uncle..."

"I told you there were good reasons when I gave the go-ahead for the completion of the project. It's done and over with now, so we can't change the past and _not_ make it." He stood up, patted his friend on the back, and extended a hand to his adopted niece. "Let's not regret the past. We should go out and celibate!"

"It's cele_brate_." Ellone giggled and stood.

The three of them left then, to find Ward, and spend an evening happily looking to the future.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

.

__

Are you gonna give up

Are you gonna give out

Ain't that a shame

You've got no one to blame

But your conscience

If it doesn't make sense

I know that only too well

So tell me, did it happen one day

When the day that you faced

Wasn't happening

It just didn't bring anything more

Anything more than despair 

--Duncan Sheik, "Serena"

.

(Calm. Stay that way. Eyes out window. Hands folded in lap. I'm a good little girl.) Rinoa gazed out the window, perched delicately on the cushioned seat of the SeeD compartment. (And you promised yourself, dear Rinny girl, that you would never do this. Never give in to him again.) Her eyelids slowly slid down into a fuzzy haze where dream and memory intermingled.

******

_"...and I'll know that I'm not dreaming... **That was the hit romantic ballad from a few years back, 'Eyes on–'**"_

Daddy switched off the radio with a grunt. I sat there, picking at the green beans on my plate. "The song was over anyway," I dared to protest.

He half-glared at me from underneath thick brows. "You should wash that shit off your eyes before you pretend you can tell me_ to do anything. Supposedly a 'young lady,' and can't even dress herself..."_

Eyes instantly flew to my lap. (Hello, stupid skirt that Daddy bought. You match the shirt that Daddy bought. It's perfect for a grandma.) Unfortunately for me, it was a fifteenth birthday present.

"Rinoa? **Rinoa! **_You're not even listening to me, are you?"_

"I am, sir." A meek reply. I have no fantasies_ of being more than that, even._

He set his jaw. "Today, I took a little field trip. To a tiny little house."

I count down to the time I can safely tune him back out again.

"You were born in that house.." An awkward pause. "It is about to be sold and I found an old trunk that used to be your mother's. In the attic." He slid an envelope across the mahogany table. Humble white paper, yellowed by age, slinking quietly across vanity lacquered with pretension. "When she wrote this to you, I thought it a bit loony, to say the least. She wanted you to have something tangible showing how she saw you as a baby–to give to you once you were older."

I picked it up, cautiously.

"You've obviously reached 'older' at this point, chronologically at least, and circumstances being what they are, I believe her actions are fortunate for us. You may be excused now. I know that your stupid little brain will refuse any more good nutrients from those vegetables."

He_ had taught me well how to hide my emotions. I could barely make it back to my room, though, before I tore into what was, essentially, the last conversation I had with my mother._

.

__

To my little Rinoa–

If you are reading this, then you are finally a beautiful young woman. I'm sure that we've had some wonderful times together...both the good and the bad fade, eventually, into pleasant memories when given enough time. Right here, though, I'm watching a darling little baby sleeping underneath my bedroom window. I'm in the house in Timber, wonderful Timber, where, no doubt, I've watched you grow up as you played in the gorgeous green fields. Far away from the cold, hard, ugliness of a place like Deling City...

******

"He _what_?!"

Xu shrugged. "I don't see what the problem is. He did exactly what I would have done in his situation."

Quistis shook her head. "I don't care if you're my superior, _ma'am_, but that degree of compliance is sheer idiocy."

"Having fun with the ten dollar words that you don't understand again?" She snorted.

The blonde instructor continued, half-talking to herself. "He gets out-and-out _threats_, and he not only complies with said threats demands, but also puts himself in the line of fire?"

"Stop with the italics, Quis. He's got a thing for the girl. Of course he's gonna be the bodyguard."

The next was barely above a whisper. "Fuckin' Y chromosome."

"Excuse me?"

She shook her head. "Never mind." Blue eyes shot a piercing look. "So when does this disgustingly inept plan say to inform the rest of Garden of Leonhart's little field trip?"

"It's need-to-know."

"You are not the only one who needs to know, Xu. If Galbadia took advantage of our delightfully vulnerable situation right this minute and blew up this office...you'd be dead and we'd be blind. The Garden is a body only as strong as its brain, the higher-ups, and we're flat-lining on the activity chart at the moment."

The other girl cocked her head to the side. "I've never seen you like this, Quistis, have you finally lost it?"

"It should be perfectly clear when Squall returns. The severity of his condition after I'm through with him should help you in your deduction."

"Who do you think needs to know, anyway?"

"Those of us who'd actually be sent for if things get hairy out in Galbadia. Us war-buddies tend to get attached to one another and, besides, you'd be forced to become responsible for Garden functions. That's why important conditions need to kinda travel through the chain of command and not just _to_ it."

Xu crossed her arms and sighed. "We shouldn't be here screaming at each other. We're both civilized leaders of this establishment and, for all practical purposes, the same rank. We both answer to Squall, so I'm sorry I did not inform you of his impending absence after he rushed out yesterday evening. What, if anything, do you have to suggest to amend the way we're handling it here?"

Nodding her assent, Quistis pursed her lips, deep in thought. "Yellow alert. Low-level impact."

"Who would we need to inform?"

"Dr. Kadowaki, Selphie Tilmett, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, and Nida Aslowe."

"Isn't that pretty much your little 'I survived Ultimecia' club?"

She smiled benignly. "Plus anyone else that matters."

******

"Rinoa? Rin?" Squall gently shook her back to consciousness.

She blinked a bit, trying to situate herself to her surroundings. "What is it? Are we there?"

"We still have another hour or so, I'd guess." A small sheepish smile crept to his face. "But I have a few questions I'd like to ask before we're in the city. I've got a feeling we won't have much time to ourselves once we've arrived."

Attempting a smile to match his, Rinoa shook the last bit of her nap from her system. "What sort of questions?"

"It's about your relationship with your father. I know that, at least from here, it looks broken. To understand his request and what this whole situation entails, I'll probably need to know why. The more information I'm armed with, the easier it will be to keep us both as safe as possible."

"Safe?" She shot him a puzzled look. "My father and I trade animosity back and forth the way most fathers and daughters trade hugs, but I doubt he'd try to kill me."

"That's not the risk. It's more about how detached he is from you. How far he'd go and feel about using you as more of a bargaining chip than he already has." Squall took her hand. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to, but I honestly hope that you want to help me help us both."

"I feel like we've switched personalities. Aren't I supposed to be the one convincing _you_ to divulge your innermost thoughts?"

"Don't change the subject, Heartilly."

She rolled her eyes. "Ask away."

"Was it always this bad? How were things at home when you were, say, seven?"

Rinoa stared into her lap for a moment. "It was always bad, nearly as far back as I remember. Ever since my mother died. It's like she's the only person in the world that he ever cared enough about to try and change himself for. He actually had _feelings_ sometimes when my mother was around. Unfortunately for me, she wasn't around long enough for me to get to know him like that."

"So you always hated–"

She shook her head. "I don't hate him now, even. I despise him. But no, I didn't always feel that way. I was just like any other little kid, Squall. No matter how much he hurt me, I still wanted to find some way to please him. I obeyed him as well as I could. I shot for his expectations as well as I could. But he was authoritarian and militant. Great for a general, terrible for a single parent." A pause. "My best was never good enough for him. Once I was a teenager, I stopped aiming for the things he wanted. Instead, I aimed for the opposite. Anything he liked inside me had to die."

Squall scrutinized her body language, trying to fully comprehend her words. "So that's when everything..."

"No." A small titter escaped from her lips. "Of course not. I'm not strong enough for that. The breaking point for us came from beyond the grave. He found this letter that my mother had written to a 'grown-up Rinoa' when I was still a baby. He gave it to me without reading it. It would figure, the one time he doesn't invade my privacy is the only time there _was_ something damaging.

My mother...she wrote volumes about the little house where I was born, how it was such a simple place, and how it was in such a beautiful countryside. I was born in Timber, Squall. My parents must have honeymooned there and my mother's sentimental side must have managed to convince him to live out in the country. He found the letter I was reading in that same little house. He sold it without ever showing it to me. That place had to have been filled with imprints of...of my mother. In the vague, vague parts of my mind I see just a few flashes, of sunlight and flowered fields. Always, there is light.

The man still had some sort of heart, if it took him over ten years to sell that house even though it wasn't being used, but he could never show it to me, oh no. It cut me so deep–there was obviously this hope and wish of my mother's that I grow up out in a place like that, and not the disgusting city–and he ignored it. He never even gave me a glimpse of that life." A tear rolled down her cheek. "A few weeks later, I heard my father being praised on the news, for the new campaign of toughness that he was putting upon Timber. Soldiers quartered in people's homes, assassinating resistance leadership, utterly destroying any amount of press they had. That's when the t.v. station was shut down originally, you know. At low frequencies, radio waves are perfect for local transmissions."

.

Silence hung in the car for several minutes as Rinoa struggled to maintain composure and Squall regarded her with a surprising amount of empathy, for him at least.

"It took me about a month to acquire both the cash and the figurative balls, but as soon as I had, I split. I couldn't take a mansion any more, not when held against my mother's love for a place that not only was alien to me, but was also a place my father seemed hell-bent on destroying. I chickened out on the confrontation thing, though. I just left him a note. I met Zone as soon as I stepped off the train. With the frilly clothes my father dressed me in and my obvious prissy attitude from years of being upper crust, my princess nickname seemed fitting."

"I'd wondered about that." Squall smiled.

"Well..."She raised her eyebrows a bit. "The title became a bit tongue-in-cheek after I disposed of the first guy my dad hired to bring me back to Deling City."

The look on his face became that of pure shock.

"Hon...just let that spin around your mind for awhile. Add in the fact that I led a resistance group, no matter how inept, and dated Seifer. After him, I reverted to my prissy ways and that's why you know that side of me as Rinoa."

The clear skies that had accompanied them outside the window throughout the entire trip were starting to become marred by wisps of smog here and there.

"We're almost there. Was that enough information, Squall?" She looked at him inquisitively.

"I hope so. I have a feeling it has to be."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

.

(Morons don't realize I hold the fate of their world in the palm of my hands.) Seifer slouched down into his booth and flicked cigarette ashes right onto the table. (Sky above only knows how many fucking sorceresses there are out there, just waiting to wreak havoc on our peaceful little planet. Getting Rinoa's possess-able ass is only the first installment of what ought to be Galbadia's _modus operandi_.) A cocky half-smile formed on his face as he continued to drift away in his thoughts. (General Almasy doesn't sound too bad. Can't be half as homosexual as 'Headmaster Leonhart.' Who knows? Maybe Rinoa's just a cover, a name like _that_ belongs in gay porn.)

"SEIFER."

He gave a curt nod to the owner of the extremely loud monotone. "Won't you sit down, Fuu?" he said, forming the words carefully.

His old friend scrutinized him twice as well as anyone else could, slight vision impairment aside, and smoothed a hand self-consciously over the locks she'd dyed brown for the sake of being inconspicuous. Inconspicuous as she possibly could be, anyway. Strain entered her features as she attempted to lower her voice. "whats with caraway?"

Recovering from his surprise at seeing her, he rolled his eyes and mouthed his reply. _Chickening out a bit. Too many feelings involved. He wants to **see** her before I slap the jewelry on her._

Fuijin pursed her lips and began to open her mouth to speak as much of her mind as she could. A simple gesture from Seifer, and her mouth hang agape for a different reason. She made a few moments of her own. _How'd you know I could sign?_

His movements were halting, slow, but also accurate. _I asked Raijin about it. He didn't know much, but I took advantage of Caraway's library. _He shook his head and stuck out his tongue.

She crossed her arms. "FOOL. SPELL OUT TOO MUCH."  
Crossing his arms in a different way, he gave her a reply that didn't need to be spelt out.

_Don't burn yourself with the cancer-stick, sweetheart._ The sarcasm in her face helped convey her meaning loud and clear.

_I didn't do this for you. I figured it would help out in missions of high security._

A smirk. _You are too selfish for anything else._ She waved a waitress over. "WHISKEY SOUR."

"Hard stuff, little Fuu–" He stopped abruptly when she raised her uncovered eyebrow and pointed to the row of dry shot glasses in front of him. "Relaxin' before a mission, _babe_."

He'd obviously stopped concentrating on clear enunciation and Fuijin saw the unmistakable slur of intoxication. _So I guess I'm relaxing before I have to drag you to your place._

.

The waitress came back with not only the whiskey sour, but another shot for the slightly coherent gentleman. He nodded to her. "Me and this lady, we have an _understanding_, Fuu!"

The girl slapped a check down on the table. "Figured you didn't notice that this is last call." She pranced away.

"Guess I ain't getting her number, eh?" Seifer downed the shot before examining the check. "I'll cover you, too, out of the kindness of my heart," he continued, tossing a few bills down onto the table.

_Caraway pays you enough to be kind._

"Still snappy, aren't you? Why'd you come to my regular joint anyway? I thought you were trying to move on from our old teenage days."

He'd finally gotten her complete attention away from her drink, now half-finished. _We all miss old times. Sometimes._

"Are you still bitter about me taking the job with Caraway? I know that you didn't vote for him."

_Never bitter. I was mad at you for compromising._

He leaned closer in and spoke quite clearly. "So did you read the letters?"

Fuijin laughed. "knew where to find ya, didn't i?" She finished her drink, rolling her eyes all the while.

"I want to catch up. Will you come with me?"

She nodded.

"Let's blow this joint!" The two of them walked out of the bar, Seifer being firmly kept upright by the strength of Fuijin's arm.

******

The sun streamed through the windowpane, and the young woman who had been fast asleep slowly began to stir. She'd been up for quite some time the night before and it was well past noon.

Ellone shook the sleep out of her system and sat up. With a jerk, she turned her head towards the window. She jumped up and looked outside, searching for any signs of disorder. Nothing was happening except for the normal lunch bustle of the people who worked around the presidential mansion.

Trying to rid herself of the weird foreboding in the back of her mind, she plodded downstairs to Laguna's large kitchen, which her apartment was just located off of. Kiros was there to greet her. "Good afternoon," he said wryly.

She waved him off.

"When did you get in this time?"

"Oh only about three in the morning or so. That's pretty good for us."

"This research stuff is going to kill you, Ell." There was a twinkle behind the concerned look he gave her.

"I'll be fine." She flashed him a curious look. "I'd like to know what you're doing in our kitchen in the middle of a workday."

"I was here to pick up a few things that Laguna wanted in the office, and I noticed this." He gestured to a very elaborate bouquet that was sitting on the table in the adjacent dining room. "I figured that you might be around and about if I waited a few minutes and would be able to explain it."

"Me?" Ellone raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so..." She walked over. "I can't believe you're making me play detective before I've had any coffee. There's a card right on it, anyway." Opening the envelope, she pulled it out.

_To Ellone Loire. Congratulations on your work. From Dr. Rourke, Intech Inc._ _of Dollet._

"What do you make of this, Kiros?" she asked.

"Not any more than you did when I first read it," he admitted.

"Why would you looked at the envelope? It's not like they would have been for _you_." She stuck out her tongue. "But still, there are a lot of rare and exquisite plants in this mix. Sounds like a nerd, maybe he grows stuff in a greenhouse just to send to pretty girls," she laughed.

"My suggestion is you get dressed and bring it over to your 'uncle' and see what he makes of it."

"I'll put it on my list, to do right after I type up a report. I never get a day off now that I work with Odine," Ellone lamented with a sigh.

******

Rinoa smoothed back her hair for the umpteenth time, grimacing in the full-length mirror in front of her.

"It's fine," Squall said, exasperated. "The cab's already outside waiting. Besides, I'd think this would be the last place you would care what you looked like."

She tilted her head, scrutinizing the reflection in the glass. "I care because I'm here to say goodbye." She met his eyes and gave him a tight smile. "Where's my handbag?"

He held it up. "Come on, we better hurry."

.

The ride through Deling City was quicker than expected. Since the weather had held up as forcasted, the ceremony was being held outside in front of the gates, a.k.a. the location of the failed assassination attempt on Edea.

"I hope there's a bit better guard on the situation here than there was last time we were here, huh Rin?" Squall was out in front, looking for the special box that had been reserved for SeeD.

"Yeah," she replied, her mind elsewhere. (Everything seems to be going a little too smoothly. I'd have expected a few Timber resistance members to have hidden themselves around) she thought with a bit of disappointment.

He grabbed her hand. "Hey, I think the place up these steps is our seat. Nice and private." As the two of them stepped inside, he whistled in approval. "Just what I thought. That screen only goes one-way. We can see out, no one can see in." He flashed her a conspiratory look.

Rinoa met his eyes, then opened her mouth in shock. "You can't possibly be thinking _that_!" She stuck out her tongue. "It's probably hard for people to see through until the lights go on full blast outside. Then no one would be paying attention to the ceremony, they'd be gaping at how idiotic we are."

"If your father came up afterwards to surprise us, too, I doubt he'd feel any more comfortable with you in Balamb."

"You know I don't care about that!"

He grinned. "Then maybe it would be a good idea anyway."

Smacking him playfully, she made her way over to the seats. "Well, they're cushy enough I suppose," she said as she plopped herself onto one. "When does this damn thing start, anyway?"

"Four-thirty. Early, but all the bars here would complain if it cut into their business."

"What do you know about bars?"

Squall sat down next to her. "Nowhere near enough. Must be the reason this place bores me to death."

"No. My father just single-handedly ruins the atmosphere of entire cities. And now he's got a country in his hands." Rinoa's tone was pessimistic.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

.

(Role reversal. Touché, eh Leonhart?) Seifer watched the SeeD box from his perch nearly twenty feet above the square. He was keeping an eye on it twice, so to speak. In his hands, he held a small viewscreen that displayed the perspective of a camera hidden in the corner of the supposedly private area, focused directly on the seats occupied by Rinoa and Squall.

He leaned back impatiently. No one was going to make a move on the objective until the inauguration ceremony itself began. The idea was that the audience would be too engrossed in the situation in front of them to notice any commotion less than a gigantic explosion, regardless of the fact that it would happen right next to them.

The problem with waiting, though, is that it allowed one's mind to wander to places kept firmly locked away by activity. Idle hands aren't used directly by the devil; idle hands usually just make for idle minds. But idle minds, now that is the devil's domain.

Seifer found that he couldn't keep Fuijin's brief, but intent urgings out of his head.

.

_He looked up at her, half-drunk. "Come on now, Fuu. I wanted to be like old times now, I don't need to hear all your thoughts on every aspect of my life."_

She shook her head. "it's not that i want to. YOU NEED."

"Geez, my ears." Seifer closed his eyes. "Look let's just go to sleep now. I have a comfy couch in the other room." He made a big show of flopping onto his bed.

Fuijin got up, reached over, and, without pause, shoved him onto the floor.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "What's the big idea?"

"NO SLEEP. not until you say why you'd do this." She pulled a piece of paper from her pants pocket and read his own words back. "'fuu, i told caraway that rinoa is a threat to us. we're probably going to seal her away. getting her out of our hair forever. aren't you proud?' WHY? this is stupidity. complete." Her face showed the strain from controlling both her voice and her emotion. "you'll start a new war. you'll fight with galbadia against balamb again."

"I have my reasons, Fuu, and you have to believe me that they aren't selfish. Yeah, I'm going to enjoy watching Squall get his, but you know what? That's icing on the cake of actually redeeming my past stupidity. My stupidity that will become Squall's stupidity if we keep the one who inherited Ultimecia's powers alive and viable. They killed her in the future, but she had to come from somewhere, right?"

Silent for a moment, she simply bowed her head. "you lost last time. most don't survive on to lose a second time. don't tempt fate, seif."

"Why the hell do you have to do this now? You don't even have the decency to pretend everything's all right on the eve of a day that you're convinced I'm gonna die?!" He stood up angrily. "Go ahead, then. Lecture me. Yell at me, please."

She looked him straight on. "no, no yelling. no show for you. just gonna get me." Her expression changed a bit; she looked deep in thought. "there are probably more sorceresses out there besides rinoa. those going to go, too?"

"If necessary, of course they are. Fuu, believe me, this isn't a grudge match. I'd fuck up a grudge match, right?"

"no. just 'romantic' dreams."

"Hey. Don't go there."

"what if a sorceress is someone important to you?"

"That won't be a problem. Edea got rid of her powers."

"don't be so sure. rinoa became one. big surprise."

Seifer sighed. "Fuijin. I'm sorry you came here just to gripe on this. I'm tired. You're welcome to sleep over, but I'm going to bed now. I have a big day tomorrow."

"yes." Her voice was cold. "don't worry. LEAVING." She turned to leave.

"And that's how it goes again," he said to himself.

Suddenly, she faced him again and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. Then, as quickly as it happened, it was over.

He heard the front door opening and then being firmly shut. Sitting down on the edge of his bed, Seifer slowly laid down, head on pillow. His mind was racing with the things she'd said to him. Soft, yet firm. Fuijin was always brashness and hard edges except for the split seconds she was the exact opposite. Part of the reason her words cut him so deep was the fact that he could have sworn he felt something soft and warm brush his lips before she had run out the door.

It's always convenient when things that can keep a person up for days happen the night he needs his sleep the most.

.

A blink, then a shake of the head, and the lingering thoughts were forgotten, for the time being. Garden training did have its uses, in the end. Seifer's eyes darted up towards the podium and watched as Caraway made his way up the steps to the large pavilion being used for the ceremony.

It was almost time.

******

"What in Bahamut are we looking for?" asked Selphie in wonderment, as the four SeeDs sat around the large screen television. Well, not merely sitting–even _huddled_ would be an understatement.

"Didn't Xu and I brief you all last night?" Quistis pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Yeah. I'm just not sure what..." Her voice trailed off when she noticed the blonde snort. "Sheesh, Quisty, it's not like I'm playing stupid. I have no idea what exactly you think's gonna happen."

"If we're that worried, why ain't there a unit in Galbadia right now?" Irvine wondered aloud, in his slow, drawling way.

"Because this matter is more complicated. It's a problem of diplomacy, and a family matter, and a sorceress matter–"

"And a Seifer matter!" Zell leaped off the couch. "Quis, dammit, there's a guy on the rooftop in between the pavilion and the luxury boxes."

"A guy equals Seifer now?" Selphie looked confused.

"A guy with ugly hair, ugly trench coat, and an ugly gunblade does!" The hyper man-child was literally bouncing off the wall, throwing punches to the air.

Quistis grabbed the in-Garden phone and dialed up to Xu. "You better contact Galbadia and tell them there's a suspicious character in sniping distance of the president-to-be." A pause. "Xu...it's Seifer. Thanks."

"So what can we do?" Irvine looked around. "I wish my gun reached to Galbadia."

The graceful woman sat back down on the sofa. "Watch, and wait, I suppose. Scrutinize the inaugural celebration and hope to the powers-that-be that the stupid moron doesn't start a war."

Their attention thus diverted, it wasn't until after the former General Caraway had been fully sworn in that any of them noticed that Seifer had left his post.

******

Rinoa leaned back in her seat, with the expression of feigned disinterest that she generally wore during matters concerning her father. The inauguration ceremony didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary; Caraway stood with his right hand raised and his left hand resting on a book of law, while reciting the oath of office. She stifled a yawn and glanced to her right.

Squall seemed to be having trouble staying awake.

"I thought _I_ was bored," she whispered, amused.

He blinked a couple times. "I was fine until just a minute ago or so," he murmured sleepily.

"Are you all right?" The question came forth from Rinoa's lips even as she felt her own consciousness start to slip away.

"Yeah." His head fell forward a bit, and his chin was resting on his chest now.

Rinoa's eyes closed. "...so...tired."

The box was silent, save for one last mumble. "Not again...gonna kill...Elle..."

.

The curtain at the entrance was pulled hastily aside by a battle-hardened hand. Icy blue eyes surveyed the dozing occupants, and then the hand motioned down the small entrance corridor. The sleeping powder had worked better on them than he had expected.

Four Galbadian privates stood before Seifer, saluting.

The protocol was surprising; he stood silent for a moment, taken aback. Shaking his head, he decided to give his final orders. "You two," he said, pointing, "are to take Headmaster Leonhart and put him up in one of the 'special' suites at the Presidential Mansion." He studied his slumbering rival. "Be careful. Make sure it looks like he's walking on his own _and_ stumbling. If anyone asks, the boy's drunk. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Another salute, and Squall was gone from the box within thirty seconds.

Seifer's eyes fell on Rinoa. Sleeping peacefully. Innocent. Dressed the way she used to look, years ago. A small pang of conscience tugged at his mind, but he pushed it aside. The time for such concerns was long past. "You," he addressed the two soldiers left, "bring the girl and follow me. She became ill from the crowd and fainted."

The men quickly went to follow their orders.

"Try to be as careful with her as possible." The words came from his mouth on their accord. He shook his head and walked back out the door, taking care to make sure the others were close behind.

Remorse was easy to stop after that; Garden's military training did have its uses, after all. But his mind leapt back to the very words he had just spoken. They scared him.

(Even after everything that has happened,) Seifer thought, (I have a feeling this knightly gig is going to be harder to just "give up" than anyone has imagined. The sorceress has a knight.) He glanced back to Rinoa. (And the job may remain, even if the true power is sealed away forever.)

__________________________________________________________________

  
**A/N: Well, it took me ages and ages and ages to get this chapter out. Hopefully the plot (and me writing this damn thing) will start to pick up in a bit. Boy, this chapter had a lot of Seifer in it, didn't it? ^^;   


~Quinkie~

**


	7. Book II Succession: Interlude I

****

Book II: Succession

_  
I caught a glimpse of heaven last night   
Through a crack in a mirror   
That fractalized the light   
A saint is a sinner; a sinner is a saint   
It's all just the cloaks we hide behind   
A cartoon in the brain   
And I say all of these things   
Are written in the sand behind me...   
--Live, "Hero of Love" _

.

Interlude I: Remembering

.

"Unjunction me," _Griever says_. "Then you will finally understand."

__

"Libero? We are not joined," I whisper.

"Thinking such only helped you forget..."

_The GF, however, is being foolish. The hidden memories and repression? They are only actions working on my surface. Deep down I am who I have always been, and I will continue to be her until..._

Maybe Griever is right about a few things. I no longer remember the ending to this story. I just remember it does end. And perhaps this time around, when I hold the past in the palm of my hand, things may turn out differently. Perhaps I do deserve the ending I shall come to, but I did not deserve that ending back then.

"My crimes only exist to make my punishment make sense."

"Your punishment came in the wrong order, at least in your perception, because you manipulated time."

_"It is still not Rinoa's fault."_

"No matter what turn of the cycle, it is always Rinoa's fault."

_Always her...my... No. That's nonsensical, incomprehensible, and just plain wrong. Definitely not an answer I can accept. Besides, I can already feel time starting to fold on itself, and soon it will all be better again. She will not have done anything yet! And I have the power to save her...save her..._

Save myself.

"You can break the circle, you know. Release me from my bond."

_"If you don't want to help," I say, "then don't."_

"I have no will but to serve my sorceress. That is the chain encircled around every knight since Hyne's division. As the we became I, and my pieces were returned into one, that only increased my slavery. I am junctioned to the daughters of Hyne. It is up to you, the final one, to set me free. Else I do your bidding..."

_Yes. My bidding. And my bidding is to destroy..._

(SeeD?)

The cycle.

(Kry...)

The true monster.

(Rinoa)

The pain.


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

.

_Drip._

Drip.

(Well, now, that's a tad annoying.)

_Drip._

Drip.

(I guess I'll have to call maintenance in the morning and have that fixed.)

_Drip._

The latest drop of liquid slid down, tracing a line down the back of Squall's hand. Dazed, he blinked his eyes open.

_Drip._

(Where the hell am I?)

Outside, the wind howled as the windows and roof were battered with what seemed to be one of Deling City's rare, but powerful, ocean rainstorms. (Delin–that's right!)

Squall sat up with a jerk and tried to stand. He was tugged back into a sitting position by the bond on his right arm. It was then that he finally realized his surroundings for what they were. (Plain room, single light. Boring, but warm and dry.)

_Drip._

(Except for the leak in the ceiling that happens to be right next to where I was sleeping.) And he had been sleeping, fairly well to boot. He was certainly in a mysterious and fairly confusing predicament. The last thing Squall could remember was dozing off in a private box seat, watching the Galbadian presidential inauguration. Not exactly something a person of his status should really admit to, but...

The door to his room suddenly opened. "...no, I think I'll handle him alone for awhile..." A fairly familiar voice drifted in through the doorway. Then, _he_ stepped inside and shut them in together. Alone.

"Seifer!" This time, Squall managed to yank himself up into a crouch.

A bit of emotion, possibly even pity, flashed itself through the cocky blonde's features before he opened his mouth to respond. "Peace, Leon–"

"Where the fuck is Rinoa? And what the hell do you think you're doing? Garden will have your ass–"

"You better calm the hell down. I didn't have to come here. I didn't have to see you. I could have left you locked up until your precious Garden realized something was up and started negotiating for your release." A half-smile came to his face. "Well, I am going to leave you locked up until then, but I decided it was a bit too cruel to leave you out of the loop."

"What loop?" Squall scowled at his long-term adversary.

"You know, for the longest time, I thought that two people couldn't be more different than you and I. But since the whole..._thing_ that people call the third Sorceress War, the funniest thing happened. Some thoughts clicked into place, and guess what? 'We're a lot alike, me and puberty boy,' my brain says to me."

"Sounds like you need a head exam, to me."

"Well, tell me what the hell is up with the Rinoa thing?"

He felt his free hand nervously smooth back his hair. "I love her, you social retard," Squall spit out.

"We're both social retards, don't even go there."

Silence.

"I loved her too, you know, until I started hearing Edea's voice in my dreams. Thought I had some sort of fucked up Oedipus complex for awhile..."

"So?"

"Well, maybe I am fucked up. But so are you. But it's not our fault," Seifer said.

"An orphanage and then a mercenary school leads to unusual childhoods," Squall admitted.

"We're not the only ones there, though. No, I'm talking about the sorceress thing."

"Sorceress...thing...?"

"Galbadian intelligence says there are three sorceresses wandering the world right now. One of them is Rinoa. One of them inherited Adel's powers after Lunatic Pandora. The way that thing flew around, could have been fucking anyone."

"That's only two."

Seifer smiled. "The third has rather weak powers, but she's had hers the longest. It's Ellone, Squall."

"Sis..."

"We, the two of us, have been unreasonably close to several sorceresses in our lives, right?" He paused. "Our experts say that every sorceress has had a knight. They think that the knights have supernatural abilities as well. Also, the nature of the sorceress powers is conflicting. A sorceress wants to gain all the other power that's out there. But until now, the power has been so diluted, there was never a chance for it."

"What does any of this have to _do_ with us? Or Rin. She's not power-hungry."

"And Matron was, I suppose? Nah, it has a hell of a lot to do with us. The last war fucking _was_ us. We just concentrated the power more. You, me, Rinoa, Ellone, and mystery sorceress number 3 are probably the most powerful five people in this world. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon enough, we'll come together and explode again. Well all this, nabbing Rinoa, and getting you here, it's all part of a plan to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What are you going to do, Seifer, shoot us all into space? Start a gigantic war with Esthar to capture the president's daughter?"

"I honestly don't know."

"That's not good enough!" Squall struggled against the rope. "Why the hell do you get to decide what's best for us or not? You're the one who lost control for Ultimecia."

"You lost control, too!" He spat at his captive's feet. "Just because it happened to work in the right direction doesn't change the fact that you altered the way you were. For her. Rinoa. Love's magic, man, but even I never really thought you were that fucking stupid."

Squall sank back and leaned against the wall. "This is a nightmare," he muttered.

"We are sealing her up, just not in space. Or permanently. It's just a special sort of room. We're hoping to get Esthar, and Ellone's, aid and cooperation in this whole mission. Caraway's not a bad man, he's just kinda dense. Like you. Locking up a sorceress just delays the inevitable. Look at Adel. No. We want to free everyone from these ties."

Silence.

"Don't you want a life of your own for once, Squall? From childhood until now, it's all really been about the sorceresses. The succession of witches."

Eyes fixed on the ceiling. No reply.

"Well think about it. I'll come back tomorrow or something. I thought you might want to see her before she's sealed away for a bit. And this whole situation will be a lot more bearable if you just open up your mind and understand."

The locks clicked back into place, and Squall was left alone with his thoughts and the rain pounding against the building. And the leak.

_Drip._

******

"I haven't done anything wrong," she whispered.

_Click._

Rinoa leaned back onto the bare steel wall behind her. (Why won't any of the guards answer me? Usually Galbadian scum can't shut the hell up.) She cocked her head to the side, thinking about the last one who had opened the cell door a hair and slid in a plate of boring, impossible-to-make-into-a-weapon food.

There had been a look on his face, hadn't there? When the brown eyes dared a peek at the girl locked into one of the strongest security cells in the entire world, an unmistakable _something_ had passed through his face. (Maybe he realized that once Garden gets word of this, all their stupid shit will finally be over. Maybe...)

Her thought trailed off, even, though. She just remembered something important; something that never came to her own mind most days. (He couldn't possibly be scared of _me_, could he? I don't even have enough power to do anything.) She shook her head, dazed. The sleeping powder still had kept some lingering effect over her in the five or so hours since she'd awoke. It was only then she realized there was something on her arm..

She glanced down. There it was, right underneath the black ribbon she constantly wore in respect to her mother. (It looks like...)

It was similar to the Odine bangle, except stronger and firmer, being made to go over a larger part of the arm. That could be an explanation for her thinking being not quite as sharp as usual, couldn't it?

(What in the world is going on? And why won't anyone _tell_ me?)

Rinoa crumpled into a ball in her plain, cold cell. The shuffling of her skirt against the steel floor was the only sound she could hear. If anyone was nearby, it was masked by thick metallic walls. (I'm alone, I've been weakened, and Squall didn't tell anybody where we were going.)

It wasn't until this thought had passed that she began to cry.

******

Ellone's voice drifted through the presidential office. First a light laugh, then she resumed her conversation. "I can't believe that we made such a big impression on everyone. I knew we were on television, but I didn't think they were gonna port it through all the underground lines."

Kiros tossed a look of concern at Laguna. (Seems like this guy is being way too flattering.)

The president, however, was too busy stamping his signature on a bunch of fairly irrelevant motions brought up from the Senate. (Yes to Balamb Friendship Day, Yes to encouraging humane slaughtering of leftover Lunar Cry beasts–wait that makes no sense...) Laguna shifted the last one to the side. He'd ask Kiros about that later.

"...well we can't exactly just hand that technology over to everyone. It's very dangerous, if put into the wrong hands. Oh, no, I didn't think you were _going_ to ask me for that, I was just being cautious. Odine's kinda been rubbing off on me." The girl's eyes twinkled at all the flattery and attention she had been receiving. "You really think I can help you on your project? How? I can't help with _anything_ remotely similar to the junction machine, you know..."

"Hey, Laguna." Kiros' voice was a loud whisper.

(Yes to GF Appreciation Carnival during the second week of summer...)  
"Laguna!" He elbowed the president.

"What?" Laguna whispered back. "Elle's on the telly. Seems like that guy's kinda interested, eh?"

"He's asking too many questions. And it's 'phone.' She was on the 'telly' yesterday at the press conference."

"You're only hearing one end of the conversation." He glanced up at his old friend. "It's wonderful you're concerned, but Elle's a big girl now. She doesn't need rescuing all the time, especially with all this sorceress nonsense being over."

"I suppose you're right."

Another bright laugh. "That was presumptuous! A private plane? To Dollet. You need my help that badly?" She blushed, as the answer was along the lines of not needing _her_ specifically, just _wanting_. "You make me an offer that's nearly impossible to refuse." Suddenly she paused and met Kiros' concerned eyes. "There's room for me to bring a friend, right? I don't really want to go through the long flight and stay in a strange place all by myself. Alright. Well I will be seeing you soon, then, I guess."

The phone was barely in the cradle before the lecture began. "You have no idea what you just agreed to, what if–"

"That's why you're coming with me, Kiros." Ellone smiled. "Better get packing. We're leaving in a few hours, and from what I hear, Dollet's weather is a tad different than in Esthar."

Her happy expression just grew as she made her way back to her small apartment. (I guess I really _am_ starting to make a name for myself in the scientific community. And so fast, too. This is great!) She half-skipped the final steps to her bedroom door. Catching a glance of herself in the full length mirror, her grin nearly reached the face-breaking point. (And if I happen to make other types of impressions, all the better, right?)


End file.
